One Life, Together
by darkdork13
Summary: This new, human Doctor felt real enough when he said those three words she needed to hear. But with the real Doctor gone, Rose is emotionally wrecked, and the new Doctor wonders if he can ever be good enough. Where will they go from here?
1. Chapter 1 The Man I Am Now

**Author's note:** ("JOURNEY'S END" SPOILERS!!) This story picks up during "Journey's End" after the Doctor and Donna deliver Rose and the others back to the parallel universe, along with the new human Doctor. I wanted to explore what the characters were thinking as the events at Bad Wolf Bay unfolded so I could get inside their heads better. There's much more to this story than a recap of _Journey's End_; just keep reading. ;) Chapter 1 of ??.

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_**The Man I Am Now**_

_Rose looked around in confusion and suddenly realized where they were. "Back home"? But this wasn't home. Home for her was with the Doctor. Why would he bring her back here if the walls of the dimension were closing? She'd be trapped again..._

"I spent all that time trying to find you, I'm not going back now!" Rose stared at the Doctor incredulously. What was he thinking? How could he just _leave_ her, after how hard she fought to get to him? When he first saw her in the other dimension, he had run to her! He seemed so happy she'd come back…

"But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." The Doctor gave his double a cold look. "He destroyed the Daleks; he committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

His double glared back at him. "You _made_ me!"

"Exactly. You were born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge." The Doctor turned his gaze to Rose, and his voice softened. "Remind you of someone?"

She looked away. She could see where this was going, and she couldn't take it. She wouldn't.

"That's me, when we first met." There was tenderness in his voice, and Rose couldn't help but look up at him. "And you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

She glared stubbornly. "But he's not you."

"He needs you." His face looked pained. "That's very me."

Donna suddenly broke in.

"But it's better than that, though. Don't you see what he's trying to give you? Tell her, go on."

Realizing who Donna was talking to, Rose turned warily to face the other Doctor.

He saw the mistrust on Rose's face as she looked at him. It stung, but he couldn't blame her. As far as she was concerned, the other him was the _only_ him. He knew exactly what his original self was up to; he'd known since his other self had announced where they were going, and he would leap at the chance he was being given without a second thought—if it weren't for that look on Rose's face.

Still, he had to try.

"I look like him, I think like him. Same thoughts, same memories, same everything. Except I've only got one heart."

Rose's heart skipped a beat. "Which means?"

"I'm part human. Specifically, the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler." He paused. "I could spend it with you...if you want."

She looked stunned. "You'll g-grow old at the same time as me?"

He almost smiled, daring to hope. "Together."

He practically held his breath as she took a step toward him and placed a hand over his single heart. She stared at him as if she were looking for something. Her expression was unreadable. He had no idea what she was thinking, and it was the most terrifying feeling in the world.

The Doctor watched the two of them and smiled despite himself. He could almost feel what his double must be feeling at that moment. Being one step removed from that terror turned it into excitement. He could see a little of the tension easing from Rose's shoulders as she placed her hand on his double's chest, and he knew that he was doing the best thing for her. If she would just let herself, she would be happy with him.

Having her happy would be enough.

Suddenly the TARDIS whirred behind him, and he and Donna looked back in unison. Time was running out.

"We've got to go. This reality's sealing itself off—forever."

"But, it...it's still not right!" Rose ran after him, tears staining her cheeks. _Please. You can't._ "Because…the Doctor's…still _you_."

"And I'm him." His look was firm as he nodded toward his double.

"All right. Both of you, answer me this," Rose demanded. The other Doctor stepped forward to face his mirror image. Even their solemn expressions were identical.

"When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?" Rose looked at the Doctor expectantly, but he was silent. "Go on, say it!"

He swallowed thickly. "I said 'Rose Tyler.'"

_But…there was more. Wasn't there?_ "Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?" _Please…_

The Doctor paused. "Does it need saying?"

The hurt in her eyes was almost more than he could bear. She turned quickly to his double.

"And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"

The Doctor watched his double reach for Rose before she had even finished the question._ Yes, go on…tell her._

The new Doctor gently touched Rose's arm and leaned in close to her ear. His heart was in his throat. _Let me be good enough…_

"…_I love you."_

The Doctor couldn't hear the words, but he felt them as if he were speaking them with his own lips. He'd given up his chance to, now.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment when Rose heard her Doctor's voice saying those words. And when she looked into his eyes, they were _his_ eyes. Her Doctor's eyes, looking anxiously into hers. Waiting.

She grabbed him roughly by his lapels and pulled his lips to hers.

The new Doctor barely hesitated before throwing his arms around her and fiercely returning her kiss. His heart pounded harder than he'd ever felt one heart beat. _Rose…my Rose…_

Neither of them noticed the Doctor and Donna retreating until they heard the TARDIS's door snap shut. Rose gasped and whirled round. Unthinking, she broke away from her Doctor and ran after the one who was leaving her behind…_had_ left her behind. She stopped in her tracks. The TARDIS was fading, and then it was gone. The Doctor was gone. He'd left her again. By choice this time. Without even a goodbye.

She felt a hand grasping hers and took it without thinking, her mind numb. Then she remembered whose hand it must be. She turned her head as he turned his to look at her. His eyes were just like her Doctor's, and they were looking at her with such worry and compassion. But he wasn't _really_ her Doctor, no matter how much she might want to believe that. He just wasn't. _Her_ Doctor had left her.

She suddenly felt like her younger self, on this same beach years before, heartbroken and hopeless. Except this time, there was no point in trying to find her way back to her Doctor, even if she could. He obviously didn't want her with him.

All at once the new Doctor's arms were around her, holding her gently, and she slumped against his chest with a sob. She was so tired. She worked so hard…she waited so long…she had been _alone_ for so long, while the Doctor had been off in his bloody _time machine_ picking up new women, having new adventures, never bothering to try to find a way back to her as she had done for him. What had he been _doing_ all that time? If he loved her so much, why didn't he try to _find_ her? She shoved against the Doctor's chest in a rush of frustration. Reluctantly, he let her go.

"Why did you leave me here?!" she yelled, her face soaked with tears. "What were you doing all that time that I was stuck here, trying to find my way back? Where _were_ you?! If you love me, then where _were_ you?!"

As furious as she was, she felt a stab of guilt when she saw that the Doctor was crying.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he said softly, his voice choked. "I'm so, so sorry. I wanted to find you, but…I just didn't think it was possible. Not without tearing both our universes apart. I couldn't risk that, Rose, not even…" He closed his eyes for a moment. "Not even to be with you. It would have been selfish. I just…couldn't."

Rose shut her eyes tightly, fighting to control her emotions. She knew he was right…it _would_ have been selfish. But…

"…How could you not even _try?_"

He stared at her with a strange mixture of regret and ferocity. "I would try now, Rose. The man I am now would try."

She stared back at him. Of course, he _was_ a different man now. Not just because of the metacrisis; even the real Doctor must be a different man now than she remembered. It had been years since they'd been together, and she wasn't the same woman she had been then either. How would she know what was different because of time and what was because of his new body? Maybe it was better if she couldn't…

"Doctor..." She hesitated. It felt natural to call him that, but it felt strange too.

"Yes?" His heart seemed to beat an extra time each time she said his name. Each time, it gave him that much more hope that she could see him as himself, not as just an echo of someone she could never have.

"Before we go, I... I need some time to think, okay?" She wanted to reassure him, but she wasn't certain enough of anything yet to reassure anyone, not even herself. She needed to be alone for a while. Ironic, considering how long and hard she'd been fighting to _stop_ being alone. But she couldn't think with the pressure of him boring holes in the back of her head with his eyes…him _or_ her mum. She'd almost forgotten she was there. Glancing around, Rose saw that Jackie had wandered off a short distance, obviously watching and listening to everything that was going on but trying to appear unobtrusive. Maybe the new Doctor could go keep her company for a while. The thought made Rose smile.

The Doctor noticed her eyes brighten a little and couldn't help grinning stupidly at her. When she giggled in response, his heart soared. Impulsively, he pulled her into another hug. She tensed for a second, but then he felt her relax and bring her arms around him. He wished he could hold her forever.

"Take your time, Rose," he said quietly, his face pressed against her hair. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

She squeezed him a little tighter. "Promise?"

"I promise."


	2. Chapter 2 Keeping Promises

**_Keeping Promises_**

The Doctor watched Rose wander off up the beach, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. He rubbed one hand over his face in frustration. He wanted to run after her, take her back into his arms and kiss her again. He wanted to prove himself to her. He wanted her to look into his eyes with recognition and love instead of doubt and suspicion. But the other Doctor had made that impossible when he left without saying goodbye.

Oh, he knew why he had done it. Part of him wanted to say he would have done the same thing. But he wasn't so sure he would have. Not the new him. Because the new him was less concerned with nice-sounding principles and more concerned with the real impact of his actions. The old him called it genocide to wipe out a race of creatures that was trying to and would have erased the rest of the entire multiverse. _He_ called it defense. And what the old him might call indulging temptation, _he_ called a proper goodbye. Rose deserved a proper goodbye. The old him might think he was being selfless by slinking away while Rose was distracted so she would be more inclined to settle down and forget him. He probably even thought he was doing the new Doctor a favor. But that was rubbish. He did it because he couldn't bear to touch her or even see her smile at him one last time, because he knew he might not have the strength to go if he did.

The old him snuck out for his own sake as much as for hers.

He was grateful to have the chance his old self would never take. But now Rose was angry and hurt, and since the old him wasn't there anymore, she was hurt and angry with _him._ Hurt enough that even though he had just told her he could spend the rest of his life with her, she couldn't stand to be near him. Not the best way to start a relationship.

He turned and saw Jackie talking animatedly into her phone. Apparently they weren't too far out in the middle of nowhere if she could get a signal. Then again, technology in "Pete's World" was a bit different from the other world; maybe mobile phones worked a little differently.

He wandered over and listened to Jackie's end of the conversation.

"You are absolutely not bringing Tony with you to bloody Norway! We're fine, there's no need to rush up here without waiting for a babysitter. You remember that little pub we ate in the first time we were up here? We can walk there and just wait until you call. If you can't get a helicopter today, then just let me know and we'll find a place to stay the night. ...No, Rose ran off a minute ago, I think she just needs to clear her head. …Yeah, I know! _Two_ Doctors! I'd need to clear my head too if I was her! …Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine, after a while…"

Jackie suddenly noticed him standing there and jumped. She gave him a strange look. "Look, I've got to go, Pete. I'll wait for you to call before we go anywhere, yeah? We'll go into town and just wait till you call before we do anything. Bye, I love you." She hung up the phone abruptly.

The Doctor felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Jackie had seemed to warm up to him at first, but that was before the _other _him left her daughter in tears again. He didn't like the distrustful look in Jackie's eyes any more than he liked it in Rose's, although the particular sort of fear it caused in him was a bit different. He smiled weakly.

"I oughtta slap you," Jackie said suddenly. Without thinking, he took a step back.

"What for?" _Blimey, you idiot, what do you think?_

"What for?! My daughter has spent every day of her life since you left her here the first time tryin' to get back to you! She never gave up on you, though why I don't know, since _you_ gave up on _her!_ And then she finally makes it back, she helps you save the entire universe, and what do you do? You bring her back to this damn beach and _leave_ her with…with _you!_" She punctuated every sentence with a step forward. The Doctor matched each one with a step back.

"Yes, he left her with _me,_ Jackie! He didn't leave her alone this time!"

"So you're what then, the consolation prize?"

Jackie may as well have stabbed him with a rusty, very-not-sonic screwdriver.

"You listen to me, Jackie Tyler," he shot back, striding forward. "I _am_ the Doctor. I'm the only Doctor this world has. And I may have been a coward before, but I am not one now. I love your daughter, and there is _nothing_ I will not do for her. I will _never_ take her for granted again."

Jackie stared at him for a long moment. "I hope you mean that."

"Oh, believe me, Jackie, I mean it."

"Then prove it, Doctor." The venom was gone from her voice. She suddenly looked very tired.

He swallowed heavily and nodded. She was right, wasn't she? He'd never realized how much damage he had done to their trust in him…to Rose's trust. He had been so blind when he could see across space and time. That big picture had obscured the sharp little details that mattered the most to him.

"I'm sorry, Jackie. I—"

"Oh, save it for her." She smiled slightly to take the edge off her words. "I know a little bit about fallin' in love with a man who's not quite the same man you fell in love with the first time." She saw a flicker in the Doctor's eyes and went on gently, "It's hard sometimes. You even feel a little guilty. But you have to keep movin' forward, and remember that the new man isn't always accountable for the old one's mistakes. Rose knows that, too. Just…give her time to remember."

The Doctor smiled at Jackie. She could be shockingly insightful sometimes, though he wasn't sure why he was always so surprised. Rose _was_ her daughter, after all.

And she had a point. She and Pete were obviously getting on well, and her new Pete was even less like the original Pete than the Doctor was like the original Doctor. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. In terms of the experiences and memories they shared, yes, the Doctor was much closer to the original Doctor than alternate-universe Pete was to original Pete. But both Petes were still 100% _Pete;_ test their DNA and they'd be completely identical, biologically the same person. The same couldn't be said for the Doctor and old-Doctor. Of course, personality differences between his old and new selves were likely to reveal themselves over time as well, thanks to Miss Donna Noble. _Wizard._

"Did you hear me, Doctor?"

"Hm? What?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "I said Pete's going to try and charter a helicopter to pick us up. It's the fastest way for 'im to get here, but he's not sure he can get one right away. He's gonna call when he's sure. In the meantime, there's a little pub in town maybe a mile up the road. We can wait there, get something to eat." She paused and gave him a knowing look. "Rose'll remember it from last time. She'll come find us when she's ready."

The Doctor looked from Jackie to the beach behind him, where Rose could be seen about a hundred yards off. She was sitting on a rock overlooking the water, her knees pulled up to her chest. He felt a lump in his throat knowing there was nothing he could do to comfort her. But he could at least keep his word.

"I can't, Jackie. I told her I wouldn't go anywhere without her." He smiled awkwardly. "I don't think it's the best idea to go breaking my promises already."


	3. Chapter 3 Time to Think

**Author's note:** Thanks so much for the reviews! They're great motivation! To answer Kat51130's question of why I'm having them take a helicopter home: zeppelins are slow, and planes require an airport; the closest airport would probably be in Bergen, and they might have trouble getting there without a car. I figure they want to get home as quickly as possible, and a chopper can set down anywhere there's enough open space. Also, I like the way other authors have already written them taking a zeppelin, so I wanted to do something different. I'm glad someone asked this, because it makes me feel less silly for having thought it out beforehand. :D

_**Time to Think**_

Rose sat on an outcropping of rock and drew her knees up to her chest. Her head buzzed with jumbled thoughts tripping over each other. She stared at the subdued ripples far out from the shore. Remembering the meditation class she once took a few sessions of (her mum said it would ease stress), she took a few deep breaths and tried to just let herself _feel,_ like the instructor had said_._ The next thing she knew, she was sobbing.

She buried her face against her knees and let the tears come.

She had no idea what to do, what to think, or even what to feel. She should be happy, right? At least she had _a_ Doctor with her now, even if he wasn't exactly the real thing. He was still the Doctor, just…with a few things different. In some ways, he was better. That's what the real Doctor wanted her to believe, anyway. "Here, Rose, have my mind inside a human body! It's a million times better, he'll age with you and everything! Now run along!"

_Ugh…that was unfair._ She could tell the Doctor had hated to leave her. Even after being apart for so long, she could still read him pretty well. He'd been in as much pain as she had as he tried to convince her to stay behind.

That's part of why she was angry, she realized. Everything that had just happened on the beach made it seem like he cared about her, like it hurt him to say what he said—or rather didn't say. And yet he still did it. He still refused to say the words, deliberately leaving an emptiness for his replacement to fill—and then he left without even saying goodbye. That was just like him, to run off so she wouldn't have a choice whether to stay or not. Doing what he thought was best for her, even against her will. Every other time he'd tried that, she'd stubbornly followed him, first to save him from the Daleks and then to help him open the void. Even the walls of the universe couldn't keep her apart from him when the Darkness started coming. Of course, the Darkness was a blessing in disguise as far as she was concerned. She wouldn't have had the resources to find her way back to him if the Darkness hadn't made the rest of the world sit up and take notice. She never thought she'd feel so grateful towards the Daleks.

She suddenly thought of what that woman, Martha Jones, had said when Rose told her her name. _"Oh my God…he found you!"_ The memory brought fresh tears and a smile all at once. The Doctor may not have believed it was possible to find her, but he clearly hadn't forgotten her. And the fears that she'd had after meeting Sarah Jane—fear that the Doctor would leave her behind, move on, and never mention her again, just as he did to the others before her—he had proved them wrong. He had said enough about her that Martha seemed to know just how significant it was that she was there with him on the Crucible. And yet he had looked surprised at Martha's reaction. _Still oblivious to how much us little humans pick up on,_ she thought with a smirk.

But that brought her thoughts full circle. For all the evidence of the Doctor's feelings for her, he still wouldn't own up to them. He still wouldn't let her be with him. He wouldn't let _himself_ be with _her._ And she'd never know now whether it was because of the new Doctor or not. Would the real Doctor have let her stay with him if the new Doctor hadn't been created? She wanted to think so, but she honestly didn't know. The things he had told her before about why he left people behind—that she could spend the rest of her life with him, but he couldn't spend the rest of his with her—that was all still true. If he had wanted to be with her forever (well, a human "forever"), he would have had to accept that. Could he have? And what did it prove either way?

_Which would be more proof that he loves me: choosing to keep me with him despite knowing he'll outlive me by centuries, or leaving me because he can't bear the thought of seeing me die?_

…_It doesn't matter anymore, does it?_

Rose breathed a ragged sigh. She was sick of crying. She was sick of _feeling._ She just wanted to go home and crawl into bed and not come out for days. Maybe after she'd had some rest, things would be easier to deal with. Things like him_._

She turned to look back down the beach at where she had left the new Doctor and was only mildly surprised to see him still standing in nearly the same spot. His eyes were on the horizon, and the wind was whipping his hair back from his face so it stood up almost as tall as he used to wear it when he…when the _real_ him first regenerated. Her mother was gone; she must have gone into town to wait for them. Rose wondered when her dad would be coming.

As she stared at the new Doctor, she felt her heart clench strangely. It was easy to think of him as a stranger—even as more of an idea than a person—when there was distance between them and her mind was on the real Doctor. But she hadn't felt that way when he had whispered those three words in her ear, or when her lips were on his and his arms were around her. Her cheeks suddenly felt warm. When she had been in his arms, she couldn't feel the slightest difference between him and the real Doctor. Any doubt or confusion she felt had melted away. But she couldn't spend the rest of her life kissing him, letting her emotions silence her thoughts. She couldn't pretend he was someone he wasn't.

She stood up and squared her shoulders. She shouldn't make him stand around in the cold wind forever with just a T-shirt and suit jacket on. He was only human now, after all. He could get pneumonia or something.

With a deep breath, she stepped down from her rock and made her way silently down the beach.


	4. Chapter 4 That's When I Knew

_**When I Knew**_

The Doctor stared aimlessly out at the bay. He fixed his gaze on the spot where murky gray water met murky gray sky, willing himself not to glance at Rose every few seconds. He promised he wouldn't leave her...but still, she wanted to be alone. He should let her be.

He had a pretty good idea of what she must be thinking. The same things were on his mind as well—though he could only hope Rose's conclusions matched up with his own.

He had no doubt that he was the real Doctor. He was real, and he was the Doctor. Simple enough. But of course, being _real_ didn't mean he was exactly the same. He wondered just how many side effects of the metacrisis he was going to discover he had. The DoctorDonna had been a two-way creation, and though he was still about 89.486% Doctor (rounding to the nearest thousandth), that meant he was also 11.514% Donna. Just enough to have tweaked his accent, added some extra sass to his vocabulary, and who knew what else—in addition, of course, to the reduced number of hearts and shortened lifespan. All of that he could live with. It's not like he wasn't used to adjusting to a new set of tastes and personality traits with each regeneration. But this time was a little different.

When Rose had thought he was regenerating, she had been _devastated._ She wanted the Doctor she'd known for what only amounted to a couple of years but felt like much longer. She wanted _him,_ as he had been. When he diverted his regeneration energy into his severed hand, he told himself it was because they were under attack and he couldn't waste time fumbling around in a new, weakened body while Daleks were bringing the universe down around their ears. But even as he thought it, he knew it was an excuse. The truth was, he wanted to remain the Doctor Rose loved. When he heard her begging him not to regenerate…he had no choice. And once again, the old him's decision had set the new him up to deal with the consequences. He was much more like his old self than the result of a full regeneration would have been. But these new quirks made him just different enough to remind Rose that he wasn't _quite_ the same—in case she ever managed to forget.

He suddenly thought of the other him's words before he left. His other self's explanation for leaving him in this dimension was that he was dangerous, and although they both knew it was another excuse, that didn't mean it was untrue. The other him really believed the new him was a rogue (well, more so than usual). He really believed that his decision to destroy the Daleks made him inferior and hazardous—as if stopping a genetically engineered race of intergalactic fascists was a _bad_ decision for the rest of the universe. But the old him was wrong, and not just about the Daleks. He was wrong about the new him. He didn't begin his existence full of anger and vengeance. He wasn't born in the rage of battle. He was born in a rush of love and longing. He was born from desire.

He was born because at the moment of his creation, the Doctor wanted nothing more than to be with Rose.

Yes, the infusion of Donna's DNA had come at a point when she was terrified and facing death, and his first thoughts (even before putting on some clothes) were of how to save the two of them and the TARDIS. He'd had to leap straight into battle strategy by necessity. But all that regeneration energy, the energy that in combination with his hand made him part Time Lord—the part that made him _himself_—that began generating when the Dalek fired on him as he ran toward Rose, feeling more elated than he had in a long time. That energy generated as he lay in her arms, her voice and her face filling his mind. When that energy was sent out into his old hand, it was sent to make her happy—to allow him to be with her. And although the current situation wasn't what the old him had in mind when he did it, he had achieved his purpose. Or he got it off to a start, anyway.

The Doctor smiled to himself. This explained a few things: why he didn't blink at wiping out a race that threatened not just the universe, but _her_; why he found it so natural to say the words that used to choke him up; why he was so angry at his old self for leaving Rose the first time; why he felt complete conviction when he told Jackie that he would fight for Rose in a way the old him wouldn't, didn't, _couldn't_. It was quite possible—likely, even—that his feelings for Rose were more intense and unclouded than they had ever been. It was possible that he loved her more than the old him physically could. Because he was made for it.

But how could he explain that to Rose? How could he tell her that one of the biggest changes in him was how deeply he cared for her? Somehow he thought that might do more harm than good.

"Doctor?"

It took him a moment to realize he wasn't just hearing her voice in his head. He turned to her, a smile lighting up his face.

Rose felt a familiar flutter in her stomach when his eyes met hers. With one look, it was like he had turned down the volume on all her confusion and anger. All she could hear was the memory of those three words he had said earlier.

She grinned lopsidedly. "Your face is a bit red. I think it's time we got out of the wind."

"Yes. Right. _Allons-y_!" The Doctor reached out his hand. Warmth spread through his whole body when she took it easily. "So, um…where are we going?"

She tugged on his hand. "C'mon. This way."

As she led him away from the bay and out to a well-worn road, the Doctor tried to decide how best to ask what he was itching to know. But Rose broke the silence first.

"I'm sorry for runnin' off like that," she began quietly. "I know that this is new for you too. I was just…I wasn't sure what to think at first, and I needed to be alone for a little bit. Just…to think."

"I understand." The Doctor swallowed nervously. Suddenly he made a decision.

"Rose." He stopped, and she turned toward him. "I know this is hard for you, and it's okay. This whole thing is sort of…weird. _I'm_ weird. And I might get weirder. I don't expect you to…just because you kissed me, I know that doesn't mean…" He trailed off, searching for the right words. "…I know that doesn't mean everything is going to be easy. But I can promise you one thing, Rose: I _am_ your Doctor. I remember everywhere we've been together, everything we've done. I remember the first word I ever said to you, and the song that was playing when we danced together. I remember hearing the TARDIS coming back for me on Satellite Five, knowing you must be inside. When you opened that door and I saw what you'd done to be able to pilot the TARDIS…that's when I knew for certain that I loved you."

The words tumbled out, and he suddenly felt exposed. The old him would never have told her that, and the bolt of fear that shot through him as he watched her face for a reaction reminded him why. But he kept on. "I am your Doctor, Rose. And you can take all the time you need to think about it, I understand. I promise I'll be here when you're ready."

Rose stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. She suddenly felt so selfish. She should have trusted what she felt every time the Doctor looked at her instead of whining to herself that she had been cheated. This Doctor was not a cheap copy just echoing the thoughts and emotions of the real thing. So what if there was another Doctor out there somewhere, somewhere she couldn't go? The Doctor in front of her was just as real. His heart was just as real, even if he had only one, and here he was offering it to her freely. How could she look through him as if he weren't real when he—her Doctor—_loved her?_ How could she throw that away?

"I'm so sorry, Doctor." Her eyes were wet. "I didn't mean…"

He grasped her shoulders and leaned in close to her. "You don't have to apologize, Rose. I didn't mean for you to—"

"But it's not fair." _How can I make it right?_ "I don't want you to think…just because you're different…I mean, you've been different before…"

All at once her eyes met his and her heart leapt, just as it always did when their eyes locked. Just as it always had. She remembered that she was tired of crying.

"Even if some things have changed," she said softly, "You're still my Doctor."

Smiling, the Doctor brought his hand to her cheek. She'd never seen him look so relieved, yet so vulnerable.

"Doctor." The words flowed easily now. "I love you."

His eyes answered before he spoke. "I love you, Rose Tyler."

He kissed her, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Though he knew better than anyone that it was impossible, he could have sworn for a moment that time was standing still.


End file.
